We all know that in the Pilot Episode Dana Elcar played Andy Colson. And we see an immediate chemistry between MacGyver and Colson.

What if Andy Colson was actually Pete Thornton under cover for the DXS and they recognized each other but had to "play it cool" so as to not blow Petes cover?

Innnnnnteresting! I may steal this idea for a gambit for the story that I'm contemplating, involving the fire at Brookhearst Chem.

Good ideer, Rock!

Hmm, than I'd say Pete sure knows how to quit smoking from one moment on the other.

And if he was undercover don't you think he should've known about the bombing? Unless he had the bomber think he succeeded. No matter if innocent people had died.

The story does beg for more telling. Down in the ruins of the Kiva (sp?) Mac revealed that he knew quite a bit about the fact that Cintex (sp?) 'had ordered a whole new tests', and that Dr. Marlowe was resisting. Of course, WE never got to hear how Mac learned these things; Barbara refused to tell him what kind of gas was in the chamber that they could have died trying to escape through, so I figure that she wouldn't have easily told him about administration details.

I figured that these petty useless details *heavy sarcasm* must have been deemed boring or that they slowed down the plot somehow and had hit the editing floor. OR, they changed the story so that Barbara wouldn't tell Mac anything, but didn't have time to reshoot the last scene where Mac reveals his knowledge.

Writing this up as a fanfic would be a good way to tie up those loose ends.

Pete could have been undercover as Colsen to keep an eye on these tests, or find out why the results of the experiments were being withheld. He could have sent Gantner to fetch Mac when the fertilizer hit the rotating blades!

They should've filmed that 90 minute script.

Um. Won't believe it until Loth writes it.

Was four months before we saw Dana again. Plenty of time to quit.

Yep, what Loth said. Was the first thing that popped into my head. It's what Dr. Marlow was paranoid might happen.

That was a bit mean of Pete calling MacGyver a screwball then!

Actually, it could be. There was stuff that bugged me about the episode and the bit where Spencer is all cagey about the gas is one of them. There must have been more to the story than what we saw.

Oh yes! Please do!

Interesting theory. I don't know if the MacGyver creator and producers had Pete Thornton in mind when the Pilot episode was made and he was introduced later on- or maybe they just hadn't settled on anyone to portray him, until they thought of Dana Elcar. I kinda doubt that Andy Colson was really supposed to be Pete undercover in the Pilot, at least from the show's writing's point of view- however, it does make for a really interesting theory for the fanfiction universe.

Or kinda funny because he knows him so well. The look on Mac's face when he said it was priceless.

They probably didn't even have the character of Pete Thornton in mind when they shot the pilot -- the series was heavily re-tinkered midseason, and for a wonder the changes worked. Mac started out as a Man of Mystery, with a peculiar and improbable choice of residence, a fuzzy chain of command, minimal backstory, and a lot of deliberate vagueness to his actual place in the scheme of things. All of which changed, of course! But when the character of Pete was introduced, they went to considerable lengths to establish that he and Mac knew each other well, had worked together extensively, and had a long history -- yeah, yeah, and then they re-wrote the history. Loth, if you hadn't written your camel-smuggling prequel, I'd still be itching over that particular bit of mucked-up continuity.

I would guess that Dana Elcar was cast in a recurring role because he and RDA had such good on-screen rapport from the start (which usually means there was a good rapport off-screen as well). Producers often re-use performers they have worked with, liked, and found reliable -- another variation on networking -- and MacGyver was particularly rife with familiar faces returning as different characters. Imagine if they'd passed on casting Elcar in a recurring, ultimately leading, role simply because he'd played a minor supporting character in the pilot -- that would have been a real loss!

As to backwriting the story to patch the hole, I agree that it's a terrific idea for a fanfic. And it adds a whole new dimension to the 'screwball' comment.

How about it, Loth?

Background bible

Hey Rocky... you could be on to something here... I always thought the pilot had odd gaps in the information department. My feeling was that they cut what was a "90" minute pilot episode down to "60" (including the commercials of course). That would explain a whole lot...

Thanks for the insight!

It has a strong flavour of a sales pitch for the reworked show's second season -- albeit a rework in progress at the time, since extensive changes occurred before anything hit the airwaves.

Has anyone seen these synopses? They sound interesting!

Yes the pilot was originally written as a 90 minute episode.

But was cut back to a 60 minute at the networks (I think) request.

Whoever purchased the full document when it sold on ebay probably has.

It would have been awesome if it was 90 min! I had to explain to my parents that Andy Colson was a different person when we watched it-I hate when they reuse actors!

Best get used to it!

I hate it when they reuse actors becouse then I have to explain it to everyone!

*pats MacFan717 on the head*

Yes, but the actors love it -- it's called "not starving".

Ever worked in summer rep? You get about twenty-five actors rotating roles in three or four different productions -- and if it's Shakespeare, the guys often have varying facial hair from one day to the next. Not to mention daily changes in hair length and colour for everyone. It's interesting keeping track of the herd!

For anyone interested- this document contains the background on MacGyver and Pete Thornton that you can read on this site- as well as the synopses for

The Cure (never made)
The Eraser (made, but modified)
Labyrinth (made as The Human Factor)
Blood Money (never made)
Fire Mountain (made as Final Approach, but modified)
The Hard Way (never made)


I will try to type out the synopses for these as time allows. I have also tried to maintain the grammar and punctuation used in the original document as much as possible. We'll start with

The Cure

MacGyver comes to the aid of a desperate woman, whose father is dying of a rare disease -- for which a cure exists. A major drug company, to enhance its own profits, is withholding the curative medicine illegally.
MacGyver has to penetrate the drug company's well-guarded high-tech laboratories, find irrefutable proof of the cure and along the way, humanize a beautiful woman who has turned herself into a compulsive machine, by dealing with an unsolved problem of his own emotional history.
In the course of the story, our MacGyverisms will include, 1) the use of colorless nail polish to break the "impenetrable" code of a digital vault lock, 2) eluding pursuit by simply switching the "up" and "down" buttons on an automatic elevator, 3) creating a diversion by teaching a lab animal to "speak" via a key-operated vendor, and 4) forcing the revelation of the "cure" by simulting a new, genetically altered disease.

The story involves:

ANNE WILSON, a CPA, and Corporate Manager of Thornton's think-tank, the Tine Corporation. She is the most organized, driven, workaholic human being MacGyver has ever known. She opens and closes the place; she works nights and weekends -- she has no social life, few friends, enjoys neither hobbies nor sports. But MacGyver likes her; he detects a human being somewhere inside that efficient veneer.
So, MacGyver shares Thornton's surprise and concern when Anne Wilson quits. Without warning, without notice, without explanations. Without logic.

Thornton has a clue; her father, her only family, has been ill, he's tried to discuss that area and got himself frozen in his tracks. MacGyver, concerned, takes up the challenge.

He confronts Anne Wilson in her office and demonstrates admiration for her work and her achievement. He breaks through her shell ... and she breaks down. Into wrenching tears. Her work is meaningless -- because her father isn't just ill, he's dying -- and in a way he's being murdered!

The explanation: her father is mortally ill. But Anne, via her professional contacts, has discovered that a major pharamaceutical company has been working on a cure for the disease -- and has found it. And concealed it, engaging in the little known practice of industrializing disease. Because to release a quick cure would destroy the very profitable drug trade they now enjoy. So... she's quit, determined to save her father's life -- even if she has to turn criminal and steal the secret!

MacGyver is a trifle skeptical -- put emotionally hooked; he has to help.

First: are Anne Wilson's suspicions true? The research in question is corporate top-secret; the only way in -- is surreptitiously. MacGyver-style.
Which means entry in broad dayling, clever maneuvers -- interception of secret data -- a chance to encounter DR. HARRISON GRANT, the VP Research -- a man redolent of charm and dishonesty. MacGyver has to pull off a few swifties -- but he gets an answer. Yes. He discovers the company has been pursuing this line, and a month ago clamped down absolute secrecy. They found something. Like a cure.
He brings this confirmation to Anne -- finding her at her father's hospital bedside -- and discovers that vis-`a-vis her father, Anne Wilson becomes an anxious child, a little girl desperately trying to please Daddy. And fated never to succeed. It's revelatory and pathetic. And moving.
MacGyver now understands Anne -- all too clearly. In a personal scene, he reveals that when his father died, he was ten. A boy trying to become a man in desperate circumstances -- and he has always felt that he failed in that attempt; he wasn't able to become his father -- and lived with that impossible task's failure ever since.
Now, MacGyver has an additional motive: to try to help Anne Wilson free herself from her own demands.
If they can confirm the existence of the drug, the FDA will force public admission -- it'll become public.
Together they join, their collective expertise and go into the pharmaceutical company's lab -- slipping past security -- and find themselves in the midst of an incredible high-tech production facility and sudden danger. Because the reason for the self-imposed clampdown a month ago wasn't just the breakthrough on the drug -- it was caused by the methods Dr. Grant used. Dangerous human experimentation. Unethical, probably illegal. Some of the company's employees have been infected; they're trying to cover up a potentially lethal vector.
Using all his skills, MacGyver manages to evade dangers, secure evidence, and -- most important -- give Anne Wilson a measure of reassurance, enough so that she will be able to outgrow some of her demons.

...............................................................................


Whew! Okay- there you go.

Wow, this MacGyver episode sounds pretty interesting. I can see some elements of The Human Factor, Kill Zone and Spoilers all in this one.
Especially interesting about the background story with the death of MacGyver's father and how that affected MacGyver.

Anyway- when I feel up to typing some more again- I'll try to put the rest of them up here.

Oh yeah- of course Rock, feel free to add the synopses to the web site- that's what I typed them here for.

Excellent!!

Heres the page.

As more are made available I'll do an index page for them as well as the links from the background bible page

Let me know if you find any mistakes.

Unless made decently 'The Cure' didn't say me much.

Blood Money and The Hard Way sounds more promising in their titles. Blood Money sounds like Three for the Road to me.

Cool! Its like you have some secret MacGyver episodes!
Thanks for sharing MacGyver!

Ha- no problem. I just happen to be one of those people that actually bought this thing on Ebay just to see what it was- some interesting MacGyver synopses definitely.

It's a pity they didn't make the Cure. It sounds like it has some important background information about MacGyver's relationship to his father.

Hey Rock- looked over the page on the site and it looks pretty good.
Like I said, I tried to use the exact punctuation from the document itself as much as possible, so that's why some things were underlined, etc.

Anyway- even though this one obviously was filmed, (and you can probably note some discrepancies) here's the original synopsis for

The Eraser

MacGyver is locked into a warm and growing friendship with a loveable, elfin old man who turns out to be a top-rank killer-for-hire; hired to kill somebody MacGyver is seeking.

The target is a corrupt banker, the fugitive focus of a multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme.

In the course of our story we will see the mean streets of Los Angeles while our MacGyverisms may include, 1) The use of gravity to create a powerful water cannon, 2) The escape from an assassination attempt by using dress-goods mylar fabric to create a perfect illusion to "disappear" from a guarded room, 3) A distraction created by combining an Alka Seltzer tablet ~ a grapefruit to produce mobile citrus, arid 4)water as a solar-powered ignition device.

The story involves:

MICHAEL BERINO, a bright, aggressive, young man equipped with a Harvard MEA and a well-developed sense of greed. As a rising VP of an international bank, he has position, power -- opportunity. To do a lot of very lucrative money laundering. One deal involves a group of shady middle-Eastern -laundering a fortune in cash, intended for the illegal purchase of military supplies. Figuring they can scarecly file a complaint, Berino seizes both his chance and the cash -- resigns -- and vanishes into lush retirement.
Except...the shady middle-Easterns were very well connected. With the Mafia. Who promptly put out a major contract, hiring JIMMY "THE ERASER" KENDALL, Numero Uno of enforcers, to make the hit on Berino. Simultaneously, operating from his own sources, Thornton's learned about the putative deal -- and what went sour. He asks MacGyver to locate Berino -- not for the money, for the names of the group he gulled.
That's our launching pad. Starting from two very different places, MacGyver and Jimmy Kendall encounter each other in the process of hunting Michael Berino. And a curious relationship ensues.
Jimmy Kendall is a charming Irishman, a wry leprechaun in his fifties -- and a consummate actor. He tells MacGyver that he is Berino's father, alienated years ago...now reacting to his wandering son's sorry plight. He shyly asks for MacGyver's aid and assistance.
And gets it.
As they pursue Berino, MacGyver and Kendall fall into...friendship. Jimmy reminisces about the failures and lacks of his life, the wandering, the lack of friends -- all true. He wanted to be a baseball player; dreamed, struggled -- was good enough to reach the majors... for two weeks. And then realized that he was just not quite good enough, never would be. A bitter pill, but he swallowed it, followed other paths...he doesn't specify which. But we get an emotionally accurate picture of a drifter, a loner...and an empty man, who now, on the verge of retirement, finds the son he never had...MacGyver.
And MacGyver, fatherless since he was fourteen, responds.
Along the way, the middle-Easterns reappear, launch an attack, which MacGyver foils, with Jimmy's surprisingly professional assistance. In the process, MacGyver picks up a clue...and on his own, locates Berino. Pulls him out of another assault, spirits him off -- with Jimmy right on their trail.
In the climatic action, Jimmy moves in to make his hit -- his last one.
But MacGyver's picked up a few clues -- realizes the truth -- and shields the terrified, sweating Berino with his own body, gambling that the emotional bond is real, that Jimmy Kendall won't shoot. Jimmy doesn't. Can't.
He's killed a lot of men -- but they were out of the mob's dark world, they deserved killing. He can't ice MacGyver...it would be murdering his own son.
He pulls back. MacGyver relaxes.
And Berino slugs MacGyver -- and runs...heading for escape, with his money.
MacGyver scrambles up -- and Jimmy, with dazzling off-hand skill, fires. Putting a pattern of bullets two inches in front of Berino, stopping him as surely as if he'd thrown up a stone wall. Giving him back to MacGyver. MacGyver grabs the terrified Berino -- turns -- and Jimmy has vanished. The gift made, the farewell unnecessary.
Two weeks later, Berino has furnished the authorities with all the information necessary, the case is closed... and MacGyver receives a package, at the Tine Corporation. Some tension: is it a bomb? No. It's a baseball -- Jimmy Kendall's baseball, signed with the names of the great, from that training camp, four decades ago. A parting gift.
And a continent away, in Florida, we see Jimmy Kendall, relaxed, retired, watching spring training...at ease.

..............................................

Whoa! Okay- there's another one. This sounds fairly similar to "The Eraser" episode that was filmed, with a few discrepancies here and there. I tried to leave everything as I saw it printed here, and so there are a few things that don't make much sense, but that's the way I got it. I don't know why they didn't capitalize "middle-Eastern" but I fixed that. And I'm not sure about all the MacGyverisms- especially the last two. I'm thinking perhaps it was supposed to say "A distraction created by combining an Alka Seltzer tablet (with a) grapefruit to produce mobile citrus (acid)." And then the last one would be "Water as a solar-powered ignition device."
Also, you'll notice they put Jimmy Kendall watching spring training at the end- a whole continent away- in Florida!
Um- someone was in a real hurry to not catch this- Florida's on the other side of the US from California- but come on, it's still the same country, not to mention continent!
Anyway, I think it's interesting they way they talk about Jimmy Kendall and MacGyver really feeling a connection as "father and son". Also, note that that this story synopsis lists MacGyver as being 14 when his father died, instead of 10, like the last story synopsis- "The Cure"- said. (And of course, what actually was mentioned on the show- in "Phoenix Under Siege" and I think in "Runners" too.)

Okay- well, I'll try to get the others up as soon as I can.

Wow! This is great! Thanks for posting these! I always wondered what the stories would have been for the episodes that weren't made. Now, at least we get an idea.

This ones online now as well

It's unusual language, but technically it's correct.

He's on the other side of the continent.. ergo, you would have to travel from one side of the continent to the other (a whole continent) to get there. Instead of being halfway across the country, or some other term.

This original version of The Eraser seems more intense than the modified one. I still prefer Back from the Dead over The Eraser. Good that Jimmy wasn't a leprechaun. He wasn't tall but not short either.

It's funny actually now we got a better idea of how they worked. Who knows how many episodes were written over those seven years but never made.